Trainees

Olivia Varkul, BScH

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Tomasone

Year: First Year

Undergraduate: Queen’s University, BScH Kinesiology (2022)

Current Research: Olivia is a first year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Tomasone. Olivia completed her undergraduate thesis project with Dr. Tomasone, which was focused on Canadian population level awareness and knowledge of the 24-Hr Movement Guidelines for Canadian Adults and Older Adults over time. She hopes the findings will be used to inform future guideline dissemination efforts, with emphasis on the importance of long term dissemination efforts as a means to create, sustain, and increase awareness and knowledge over time. Olivia’s Master’s thesis project is yet to be determined.

Contact:
Email: olivia.varkul@queensu.ca


Meredith Wing

Supervisor: Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung

Year: Fourth Year

Current Research: Meredith is an undergraduate student, completing her fourth year in the Kinesiology program. She is currently completing a KNPE 595 Honours Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung. For her thesis, she is using qualitative methods to explore the needs and preferences of persons with lived experience of sensory disabilities when working with exercise professionals in a community context. She hopes this project will add to the current body of evidence regarding exercise professionals and persons with sensory disabilities, as well as support Alexandra's PhD dissertation. Going forward, Meredith hopes to continue her education and complete a Master’s of Science in Health Promotion.

Contact:
Email: 20mkw@queensu.ca


Natara Ng, BScH (c)

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Tomasone & Alexandra Walters

Year: Fourth Year

Current Research: Natara is a fourth year Kinesiology student in the Revved Up Research Lab. Natara is interested in exploring quality participation in exercise programs for persons with disabilities and integrated knowledge translation for physical activity guidelines and interventions. Currently, she is completing an Honours Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Tomasone and mentorship of Alexandra Walters, where she is examining the optimization of quality participation elements being fostered within staff and volunteer training at community-based exercise programs for persons with disabilities across Canada.


Alyssa Grimes, MSc

Supervisor: Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung

Year: First Year

MSc: Queen's University, Health Promotion (2022)
Undergraduate: Dalhousie University, BScH Kinesiology (2019)

Current Research: Alyssa is a first year PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung. She is interested in sports-related concussions and injuries among athletes with disabilities. Specifically, Alyssa’s dissertation research is centered around safeguarding Para sport athletes from sports-related concussions and mobilizing appropriate concussion protocols into the Para sport sector. She hopes her research findings will promote a safer and more inclusive sport environment for athletes with disabilities.  

Contact:
Email: alyssa.grimes@queensu.ca
LinkedIn: Alyssa Grimes


Tami Morgan, MA

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Tomasone

Year: Fourth Year

MA: University of Ottawa, Human Kinetics (2019)
MA Thesis: Investigating the demographic and behavioural predictors of mental health and burnout in medical students: A cross-sectional study
Undergraduate: University of Ottawa, Human Kinetics (2017)

Current Research: Tami Morgan is a fourth year PhD Candidate under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Tomasone. Tami’s research focuses on enhancing the uptake and use of the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults among primary care providers and in medical education using an integrated knowledge translation approach. Tami hopes her research will lead to more effective processes for integrating evidence-based health practice and teaching into primary care and medical education. Previously, Tami completed a Bachelor’s (BA) and Master’s (MA) in Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa.

Contact:
Email: t.morgan@queensu.ca


Kaitlyn Kauffeldt

Kaitlyn Kauffeldt, MSc

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Tomasone

Year: Fourth Year

MSc: Queen’s University, Health Promotion (2018)
MSc Thesis: "It has to be more than exercise": Exploring optimal physical activity program delivery for breast cancer survivors across multiple stakeholder groups
Undergraduate: University of Waterloo, Kinesiology (2014)

Current Research: Kaitlyn is a PhD candidate in Health Promotion under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Tomasone. For her dissertation, Kaitlyn is exploring the complexity involved in moving evidence-based national movement behaviour guidelines into practice and policy. Specifically, her work seeks to understand the influence of social network dynamics and organizational determinants on guideline dissemination, as well as the impact of dissemination strategies on the awareness and adoption of guidelines. She hopes that the findings of this work will build an understanding of the contextual factors that influence the success or failure of dissemination practices and improve the investment in future national movement behaviour guidelines. Previously, Kaitlyn completed a MSc in Health Promotion at Queen’s University.


Yetnayet Sisay Yehuala

Yetnayet Sisay Yehuala, MPH

Supervisor: Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung

Year: Second Year

MPH: University of Gondar, Ethiopia, Public Health (2014)
MPH Thesis: Clients’ satisfaction in public and private laboratory services in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2013: A comparative cross-sectional study
Undergraduate: University of Gondar, Ethiopia, Medical Laboratory Technology (2009)

Current Research: Yetnayet is a second year PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung. Currently, Yetnayet is investigating the current scope of practice in physical activity participation for persons with physical disabilities in low income countries. She hopes the findings of her research will be benchmark for developing effective intervention strategies for better outcomes and could also serve as a basis for decision-making by providing researchers, policymakers and programmers with concurrent evidence.

Contact:
Email: 18ysy@queensu.ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yetnayet-የትናየት-sisay-ሲሳይ-335a1492


Alexandra Walters, MSc

Supervisor: Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung

Year: Third Year

MSc: Queen’s University, Health Promotion (2020)
MSc Thesis: An Exploration and Experimental Test of a Generic Messaging Approach to the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults
Undergraduate: Queen’s University, Health Studies (2018)
Undergraduate Thesis: Using eye-tracking to explore awareness and recall of the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth.

Current Research: Alexandra is a Ph.D. Candidate under the supervision of Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung. For her SSHRC funded PhD dissertation projects, she is interested in exploring how we can improve the competencies of exercise professionals regarding working with persons with disability in community-based fitness facilities. Her diverse research profile includes exploring messaging strategies for the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children & Youth, Adults and Older Adults, promoting quality participation for individuals with a disability, improving patient satisfaction in a clinical setting, and exploring novel methods for building a health brand. Alexandra currently holds a position at the Canadian Disability Participation Project as a Knowledge Translation Specialist. This winter, Alexandra is studying at the University of Melbourne as a visiting scholar with the Royal Children’s Hospital and Healthy Trajectories Hub led by Dr. Christine Imms.

Contact:
Email: alexandra.walters@queensu.ca
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-walters-160459157


Janet Lawson, MSc

Supervisor: Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung

Year: Third Year

MSc: Queen’s University, Health Promotion (2020)
MSc Thesis: Classification in Para sport: Exploring athletes’ and classifers’ experiences with and understanding of classification
Undergraduate: Camosun College, Sport and Fitness Leadership (2017)

Current Research: Janet is a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Amy Latimer-Cheung. Janet’s research is focused on understanding and improving athletes’ experiences in Para sport. Specifically, her doctoral work explores how increased education related to classification affects the quality of athletes’ experience with this process. Past projects have examined the recruitment and retention strategies of powerchair sport organizations as well as common definitions of ‘safe sport’ within the Para sport context. In the winter semester, she can be found teaching KNPE 433 - Global Sport and Disability. Previously, she worked for a variety of sport organizations, including the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Athletics Canada.

Contact:
Email: janet.lawson@queensu.ca
Twitter: @janet_lawson


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